Vehicle Launch Engineer, Body Exteriors

Were ALTEN Technology USA an engineering company helping clients bring groundbreaking ideas to lifefrom advancing space exploration and life-saving medical devices to building autonomous electric vehicles. With 3000 experts across North America we partner with leading companies in aerospace medical devices robotics automotive commercial vehicles EVs rail and more.

As part of the global ALTEN Group57000 engineers in 30 countrieswe deliver across the entire product development cycle from consulting to full project outsourcing.

When you join ALTEN Technology USA youll collaborate on some of the worlds toughest engineering challenges supported by mentorship career growth opportunities and comprehensive benefits. We take pride in fostering a culture where employees feel valued supported and inspired to grow.

Workplace: On-site 4 days per week. Fridays Remote
Location: Long Beach CA

You will be a key contributor within a world class automotive body exterior engineering team responsible for driving exterior systems from design intent through prototype builds pilot and job one at the assembly plant. This role sits at the intersection of design release manufacturing and quality and owns the launch readiness of exterior commodities including fascias claddings moldings spoilers roof systems glazing ornamentation and sensor apertures. You will be the exteriors teams on the ground presence during build events translating engineering intent into repeatable plant execution and closing issues fast enough to protect program timing.

Responsibilities:
Own launch readiness for assigned exterior commodities across all build phases from early prototype and integration builds through pilot pre-production and start of production
Lead build event support at the assembly plant and prototype shop including part staging first time build documentation issue capture containment and daily issue review
Serve as the primary interface between exterior DREs plant vehicle team manufacturing engineering STA and quality on part availability buildability and process capability
Drive root cause and corrective action on exterior fit finish gap and flush squeak and rattle water leak and craftsmanship findings discovered during build and validation
Manage the exterior launch issue list prioritize by program risk and drive closure through design change tooling change or process change with clear ownership and timing
Support tolerance and dimensional strategy execution including fit to nominal execution locator and datum verification gap and flush measurement and correlation of variation studies to build results
Coordinate part readiness with suppliers and purchasing including tooling maturity PPAP status off tool and off process part timing and escalation of at risk parts
Support DFM and DFA reviews on exterior components and assemblies providing manufacturing and assembly feedback into the design during the release window
Track and report launch metrics and readiness status to program leadership including open issue burn down part readiness and quality gate performance
Support engineering change execution during launch verifying change implementation in the plant and confirming effectiveness on subsequent builds
Participate in buck reviews teardown events and vehicle audits documenting findings and driving them into the appropriate engineering or manufacturing lane

Required Skills:
Bachelors degree in Mechanical Manufacturing Industrial or Automotive Engineering or equivalent experience
5 years of automotive engineering experience with direct involvement in vehicle launch prototype builds or plant side product engineering
Hands on experience with exterior body commodities such as fascias bumpers claddings moldings spoilers glazing or ornamentation
Demonstrated ownership of launch issue resolution including root cause analysis corrective action and cross functional escalation
Working knowledge of GD&T tolerance stack up datum and locator strategy and dimensional measurement methods
Familiarity with automotive product development milestones and launch gates including prototype build phases PPAP and production validation
Experience working directly with suppliers on tooling maturity part quality and delivery recovery
Strong communication skills and the ability to operate credibly with plant floor personnel engineers suppliers and program leadership
Willingness to work onsite in Long Beach CA and to travel to supplier and assembly plant locations including extended stretches during launch

Bonus Skills:
Prior experience launching an electric vehicle program or a new nameplate at a greenfield or low volume plant
Experience with OEM launch processes and terminology
Proficiency with CATIA V5 3DEXPERIENCE Siemens NX or Teamcenter
Experience with dimensional and quality tools such as CMM data interpretation blue light scanning or variation simulation analysis
Exposure to exterior sensor apertures sensor cleaning systems or ADAS related exterior integration and the launch challenges they introduce
Background in injection molded plastics Class A surface quality paint and film processes or adhesive and fastening systems
Experience managing issue tracking systems such as Jira or equivalent in a launch environment

Salary Range:
$120000-$135000
The actual salary offered is dependent on various factors including but not limited to location the candidates combination of job-related knowledge qualifications skills education training and experience

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race color religion sex sexual orientation gender identity national origin disability protected veteran status age genetic information or pregnancy.

Please beware of job seeker scams and see this important notice on our careers page for more information about our recruiting process.

Compliance Notice: Alten USA is a federal contractor subject to the requirements of the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) and Executive Order 11246. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and consider all qualified applicants without regard to race color religion sex sexual orientation gender identity national origin disability or veteran status.

Drug Screening Requirement: As a federal contractor Alten USA maintains a drug-free workplace. All candidates selected for employment will be required to successfully complete a pre-employment drug screening as a condition of hire.